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When people interact with us, there are a number of cues that affect the way our conversations are perceived by the listener/viewer. Two of these cues are the inflection of our voices and our choice of words. Do we come across as authoritative, disgruntled, sincere, etc.?

As Emma Snider writes for HubSpot:

“Happy earsaren’t such a good thing in business. But happy voice? A very good thing. Even the slightest error in phrasing can put a prospect off — which means salespeople spend a lot of time thinking about theparticular words they useto pitch their products and converse with buyers. But no matter how hard a rep tries to weed out all of the overtly negative or unnecessary terms in their vocabulary, there are always going to be a few that fly under the radar. Even though certain words don’t seem insidious on the surface, they can strike prospects the wrong way. Offputting words = frowning prospects. And frowning prospects don’t sign contracts.”

“What are some of these deal-destroying words?Kayakohas identified such 10 verbal culprits in this SlideShare, and provided happier suggestions that will make both salesperson and buyer smile. Turn those frowns (and perhaps any negative sales trends) upside down.”

“One powerful question for brands to answer in 2015: what are you prepared to SACRIFICE? Consumers don’t want to make the world a better place.They want brands to do that for them ;)”

“Okay, that’s a simplification of a complex issue. But when it comes to making the world a better place,many consumers are setting a more stringent standard for brands than they are for themselves. And let’s face it, given decades of unethical operations, rampant pollution, disinformation, and more, brands deserve it. After all, many brands have worked extremely hard to create many of the behaviors and lifestyle choices that well-meaning consumers are now finding so hard to change. In a global survey of 30,000 consumers, 72% of people said that business is failing to take care of the planet and society as a whole. (Accenture & Havas Media, June 2014)”

“The easiest and most desirable way for consumers to assuage (or obliterate!) their guilt? For brands to make visible, meaningful, and constructive SACRIFICES: of products, processes, attention, and opportunities.”

Click the image to read more — and to see what “sacrifices” companies such as CVS, Tesco, Subway, Intel, and others are making.

It is not just consumers (people) who need to understand and utilize the proper style and good manners with each social media format. This is also true for businesses! Proper style and etiquette will enable us all to make our desired points while still being civil and polite while doing so. :-)

As Jennifer Landry, a Web journalist who specializes in articles about business management and the current social media landscape, notes forBLUE by Cox Communications:

“Of course, you can’t employ the same methods for the different social platforms. Each site offers users a different experience. Twitter users want quick and casual communication while Linkedin users expect professional and well researched conversation. In order to get the most out of these sites, you’ll need to make sure that you understand what users expect from each platform and how to mold your posts to suit that need. In general, the posts that do the best are ones that either entertain or inform others.”

“Besides following the basic style of each social site, you must make sure you follow the unwritten etiquette rules. While they might seem like common sense, you’d be surprised how often companies do not follow them. If you can understand and implement the information from the infographic below into your campaigns, you’ll be more likely to attract new followers to your profiles and keep your old ones interested.”

Whether B2C or B2B in nature, there are both “good” and “bad” customers. Good customers have reasonable expectations and do not seek to take advantage of their sellers (and vice versa!). Bad customers can make unreasonable demands and try to squeeze sellers so they don’t make a profit.

Geek Powered Studios, a Web design and SEO firm, offers some very insightful observations on this topic with regard to the B2B arena:

“Even though every client is different, the best-case scenario for any business partnership is one that’s beneficial for both you and the client. You get to do what you do best, so they can gain more business doing what they do best. At the end of the day, you both want their company to be successful. But that can be tough to achieve if you’re always working against each other.”

“As you take on more business, you’ll learn the needs and preferences of each client and their industry. You’re also going to meet a wide variety of client personalities – from the ones who don’t check in for weeks to the ones who micromanage your every click. There will be clients who listen to your suggestions and provide feedback, but there will be others who are never satisfied and expect to be #1 overnight. Some clients may even threaten to drop their contract and just do it themselves, but they should keep in mind that only 11% of businesses who do their own SEO in-house are satisfied with the results.”

Here’s an infographic on good versus bad B2B customers from Geek Powered Studios.

However, there is also quite A LOT that we can learn from the entrepreneurs who have introduced and managed successful businesses that started out quite small.

Recently, Entrepreneur‘s Matt Villano interviewed several company founders and titled the article: “The Best Business Advice You’ll Ever Get.” [Notice the similarity in the title of our earlier post. :-) ] As Villano notes:

“Being an entrepreneur doesn’t mean you have to go it alone. Most successful business owners will tell you they could not have accomplished their goals without help — from a mentor, colleague, even mom and dad. For many, their ability to evaluate, internalize, and act on the counsel they received was instrumental in getting their companies off the ground. In an effort to tap some of this wisdom, we called on business gurus to tell us the very best piece ofadvicethey’ve received. Fromhiringtophilanthropyand more, their responses were as varied as the companies they run.”

These are some the executives whom Villano interviewed and who provided advice:

“Not sure where you’re going wrong in your job search? Tired of never hearing back from employers? Chances are, you’re getting shut out of the hiring process. Why? Well, there are a few major areas where job seekers fall flat when they’re applying for jobs. Take this quiz to see what’s going on in your job search.”